A banner calling for the firing of two high school baseball coaches was flown over the school

A banner was flown over Briarcliff High School on Monday that called for the school’s two baseball coaches to be fired. (Twitter/@dwm58)

Angry parents and fans calling for the firing of high school baseball coaches is nothing new. But how many high school baseball coaches can say that banner calling for their firing was flown over their school by a plane?

Now there are two that can say that. According to CBS2 in New York, a plane carrying a banner that read “Fire coaches Schrader & Kowalczyk” flew over Briarcliff High School in Briarcliff Manor on Monday. The team was in the middle of a playoff game, and the plane circled for about 30 minutes.

The banner referred to head coach John Schrader and assistant Walter Kowalczyk. But there’s no baseball scandal embroiling Briarcliff High School. In fact, the team is 18-3 this season, and the two coaches are well regarded. So what could they have done that warranted a firing banner flown by plane?

No one knows for sure, but it seems likely that the banner came from a disgruntled parent upset about their child’s playing time. Justin Jaye, the owner of the aerial advertising company, wouldn’t give the name of the person who bought the ad, but did tell CBS2 that he suspected it was parent of someone on the team.

“I’m pretty confident it is a parent of one of the kids on the team that potentially is not playing a lot,” Jaye said.

The stunt cost more than $1,200, which is a lot of money to spend on an angry plane banner about high school baseball coaches. Thankfully it didn’t affect Briarcliff’s playoff game, which they won 13-0.

Residents of Briarcliff Manor were not thrilled by the banner, calling it “unnecessary” and “wasteful.” At least one parent (presumably not the one who bought the plane banner) was outraged. But the coaches are letting it roll of their backs. They told a local paper that every coach has to deal with complaints. (Though most coaches don’t have to deal with a plane banner calling for their firing.)

But that banner wasn’t the last. Another banner flew over the school on Wednesday, but this one was much nicer. It said “Let’s Go Briarcliff” and included the Twitter handle of the superintendent. If flying banners over high school baseball games turns into a trend, we know where and how it all started.